


Jayden Versus The Bully

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: The 'Not Canon' Samurai Stories [1]
Category: Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Accidents, Blood, Bully, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Jayden fights back, Jayden gets hurt, Jayden is bullied, Violence, anger issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2017-12-13 23:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/829867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a fight leaves a local bully in the hospital, fifteen year old Jayden tries to explain how things got to that point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jayden: Age 6

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is a fun little story, it'll be either five or six chapters. It's told from Jayden's POV about several encounters with a local bully named Will Carter. The story is written partially in the form of a letter that Jayden is writing to Ji at the age of 15, and secondarily from Jayden's pov at the age of the story. In this first one, Jayden is six years old, and has his first encounter with a very special someone. Jayden also mentions various uncles and an aunt, these are his father's Ranger team, who Jayden met while living at Shiba House. The story is between a year to two years after Jayden's father died. Nick is Green, Ben is Yellow, Damien is Blue and Li is Pink. This story is a gift for WWMTgirl, because she not only listens to my crazy stories, she also tells me when I go too far.

 

_Dear Mentor,_

_I have completed your requested essay on the ethics of using symbol power on humans. I now take up my pen to explain the series of confrontations between Will Carter and I, and what lead up to the events of last week._

_I know that you, like me, will never forget my first meeting with Will Carter. It was in the summer of my sixth year, and you had given me permission to play in the park after we visited the Farmer's Market._

…

Jayden clung to Uncle Ji's pants with one hand as he stared at the playground. There were kids everywhere! More kids than he'd ever seen at once, that was for sure, and there was the stuff to play on, the slides and swings, and the jungle gym, just like in the book Uncle Ben had given him for his birthday.

"What do you want to do first?" Uncle Ji asked.

Jayden looked up at him for a long moment, then pointed, "There's a sand box," he said.

Uncle Ji frowned, and Jayden wondered if he'd made the wrong choice. "All right Jayden," Ji said finally, "but remember it will be muddy. Try not to get too dirty."

"Yes, Uncle Ji," Jayden said. He waited for Uncle Ji to start walking, but he didn't move. Jayden looked back up to find Uncle Ji still frowning at him. "You come to?" Jayden asked after a moment.

"No," Uncle Ji replied, "you'll be fine on your own."

Jayden swallowed and looked at all the kids again.

Uncle Ji sighed and knelt down, "Look at me, Jayden."

Jayden watched his uncle carefully.

"Your father was a very brave man," Uncle Ji said, "and I know that same bravery is in your heart." He reached out and touched Jayden's chest lightly.

"What's brave?" Jayden asked.

Uncle Ji closed his eyes for a moment, and then smiled as he opened them, "Being brave means doing something even if you're afraid."

Jayden wasn't sure he understood, but Uncle Ji was starting to get the little wrinkle on his forehead that meant he didn't want to answer any more questions. "Ok," Jayden said, "I will be brave."

"Good boy, Jayden," Uncle Ji said. "I'll be right over there," he pointed to some benches, "and I'll hear you if you call for me."

Jayden nodded as Uncle Ji stood up and turned away. For a moment, he stood and watched his uncle leave, and then he turned to the sandbox. There was only one kid in there and Jayden watched him carefully for a moment before walking over.

The boy in the sandbox looked like Uncle Nick used to, except he wasn't wearing green like Uncle Nick did. He was wearing blue like Uncle Damien. He was also playing with a funny shaped bucket and a little shovel.

He stepped up to the sandbox and tilted his head as he watched the boy shovel sand into his bucket. Then the boy looked up and Jayden realized he had seen the boy at the fish stall. "Hi," the boy said, "I'm Tony, want to play barbrians with me?"

"What's bar-barbrians?" Jayden asked, stumbling over the odd word.

"You build a sandcastle and then you jump on it until it's smushed up," Tony replied, "It's lots of fun."

Jayden considered for a moment then nodded, "Ok." He stepped over the wooden board that marked the edge of the sandbox and moved closer.

"What's your name?" Tony asked.

"Jayden," Jayden said.

"Can I call you Jay?" Tony asked, "As a nickname?"

Jayden frowned, then shook his head, "Uncle Ji says I have to be Jayden and that anything is dis- dis- dis-re-pect-ful."

"Ok," Tony said. He offered his shovel to Jayden, "Put sand in the bucket."

Jayden took the shovel and tried to imitate what he'd seen Tony do. It was harder than it looked, but he soon had the bucket full. "Now what?" He asked.

"Now," Tony said, "we turn the bucket upside down and let the dirt come out, watch." He flipped the bucket upside down and pressed it into the sand. He smacked the bottom three times, and then lifted the bucket carefully. The sand looked like it was a castle. "See, a castle," he said. "Let's make some more, I have another shovel."

They were on their third castle when a grunt and a thud made them look up.

A big kid was standing on their first castle, "Hey!" Tony said, "You smushed it!"

"It was stupid," the kid said nastily. "It was a baby castle."

Jayden watched as Tony stood up, "You're mean!"

"You're a baby!" The kid said, "You gonna cry little baby?" He jumped on the second castle and laughed.

Jayden stood up, "Stop," he said quietly, watching as Tony clenched his fists.

"Are you going to make me?" The kid said, he stepped forward and lifted his fist.

Jayden shifted his stance like Aunt Li had showed him, ready to get out of the way.

"Leave him alone!" Tony said, jumping between Jayden and the kid, "Go away meanie!"

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to," the kid said, and he pushed Tony to the side. "And I do whatever I want."

Jayden looked between Tony and the kid and began to back up, "Please stop," he asked quietly.

"Why should I?" The kid demanded and shoved Jayden back.

Jayden stumbled back and felt his heel catch on the board on the edge of the sandbox. He tried to turn and fall like Aunt Li had taught him. However, the sandbox had been placed under the branches of a tree, to provide shade for the children, and some bushes had been planted around the base of said tree. Luck ensured that Jayden missed the tree itself, but not the bushes. He felt sharp pain in his hands, then he crashed head first into the bushes with a scream of pain.

_…_

_I later learned that the kid on the playground was Will Carter. It was the first time I ever saw him, but it was not the last, no thanks to his actions. Thanks to Will Carter, I would spend months struggling to learn to live while partially blind, a condition that has never improved. It was also the first time I ever met Antonio._

_The impression I carried away from that meeting with Will Carter was that he was a bully, an impression that he has never attempted to change, and has, in fact reinforced every time we meet._


	2. Jayden: Age 8

_As a child, I was taken to FTP on average once a month, and each month was more boring than the last.  Of the few trips that were not boring, the earliest one that stands out is the day we were watching Antonio and he was allowed to come with us.  It was also unique in that it was my second meeting with Will Collins._

Uncle Ji did not slow very much as they crossed the parking lot to the big, square building where the company was.  “Big, boring building,” Tony said as he walked beside Jayden.  “What are we doing?”

“Uncle Ji has to talk to a board,” Jayden replied as they approached the front door.

“Why come all the way here?”  Tony asked, “Don’t you have boards at home?”

“It’s a special board,” Jayden replied as they walked inside.

“Is it exciting?”  Tony asked, perking up at the thought of something exciting.  Tony loved excitement and adventure.

“No,” Jayden said, “it’s boring, just like the building.”

“Are we going to talk to the board?”  Tony asked.

“No, Antonio,” Uncle Ji said as they entered the elevator.  “There’s a room where you two can color.”

Tony wrinkled his nose, but Jayden tugged on Uncle Ji’s arm, “Can we go to the park afterwards?”

They had not gone back to the park since the accident, and Jayden really wanted to go back.  “Not today,” Uncle Ji said.

Jayden pushed his glasses up his nose, “When can we go to the park?”

“Soon,” Uncle Ji replied.  The doors dinged and they left the elevator.

Jayden reached over to hold Antonio’s hand as Uncle Ji led them to a room with a large table.  They were followed by Ms. Suzie, carrying two coloring books and a box of crayons, “Here you go,” she said, giving them a smile, “Those are very handsome glasses, Jayden.”

Jayden pushed them up his nose and smiled, “Thank you Ms. Suzie.”  He leaned against Tony for a moment, “This is my best friend Tony.”

“Hello Tony,” Ms Suzie said, “I’m Ms Suzie.”

Jayden smiled, “Ms Suzie guards the doors to make sure only the right people come inside.”

Tony’s eyes widened as she stared at Ms Suzie, “Are you a dragon?”

“Antonio,” Uncle Ji said sharply.

Ms Suzie laughed, “No, it’s alright, Mister Himura.  I don’t mind.”

Ms Suzie and Uncle Ji left the room shortly, closing the door behind them, and Jayden sighed as he crawled into one of the chairs.  “So,” Tony said, “what do we do now?”

“We color,” Jayden said, “and stay out of trouble.”

“But that’s boring,” Tony whined.

Jayden looked up at Tony, “What do you want to do?”

“I want to see if there’s treasure here,” Tony replied.

“No treasure,” Jayden said, “just paper.  That’s what we make.”

“Why paper?”  Tony asked.

“Someone has to,” Jayden replied with a shrug.

The door opened and another kid stomped into the room followed by a tall man, “Don’t be like that, Will,” he said.  “I promise this won’t take long.”  He looked up and saw Jayden and Tony, “Look, you aren’t going to be alone.”

“Hi,” Jayden offered tentatively.

“Play nice, Will,” the man said and left.

The big kid stared at the door for a moment, then turned around, “Great, stuck in a room with a couple of babies.”

Tony marched up to the boy called Will, “I remember you,” Tony announced, “you hurt Jayden.”

Jayden scrambled out of his chair and followed Tony, “Tony,” he said, catching Tony’s wrist.  “Don’t get in trouble.”

“Yeah, baby, you don’t want to get in trouble,” Will sneered.

“I’m not a baby,” Tony said.  “I’m eight!”

“That makes you a baby,” Will said.

Jayden tugged on Tony’s wrist, “Don’t,” he whispered.

“Shut it four eyes,” Will said.

“Leave him alone,” Tony said.

“Who’s going to make me, you?”  Will asked.

“Yes,” Tony said firmly.

“A baby like you is going to stop me,” Will laughed, “I’d like to see you try.”

“I’m not a baby,” Tony stomped his foot.

“Prove it,” Will said.

“How?”  Tony asked.

Will considered it for a moment, “Go to the break room and get me a drink.”

“Get it yourself,” Tony said, “you aren’t broken.”

“What’s the matter, baby, are you chicken?”

Tony looked at Jayden, then turned back to Will, “Where’s the break room?”

“I know,” Jayden said.

“You don’t have to come,” Tony said.

“It’s ok,” Jayden replied.

They opened the door and Tony looked around, “Do you see Ms Suzie?”  Jayden asked.

“No,” Tony replied.

They slipped out of the room and Jayden led the way down the hallway.  “We have to be careful not to get caught,” he whispered.

“We won’t,” Tony said.

They heard voices and ducked into an open door.  Two women walked down the hall, talking quietly.  Jayden watched them pass, then checked the hallway, “Ok, let’s go,” he whispered.

They had just reached the break room when another door opened, the two boys dashed into the break room and ducked under a table.

“Thank you for coming down, Mister Himura,” someone was saying.

“It’s not a problem, Mister Carter,” Uncle Ji replied.  “Its part of my job to handle things at FTP until Jayden comes into his inheritance.”

The two men walked past the door to the break room and Jayden sighed softly.  Tony slipped out from under the table and headed over to the lighted coke machines.  Jayden followed, “What now, Tony?”

Tony patted his pockets, “Now we get the drinks.”  He pulled out a quarter and reached up to put it in the machine.

“That’s Mister Himura?”  A woman asked.

Tony glanced at Jayden, and they ducked under a table with a tablecloth.

“That’s him,” a second woman said.  Jayden could see her walking into the break room, she had red heels.

“Is he the CEO?”  The first speaker asked as she followed red heels.  Jayden noticed she had black flats.

“No,” red heels said, “He’s the guardian of the owner of the company.”  The two women sat down at another table, “When the owner comes of age, he’ll take over.  Until then, Mister Himura and the board run things.”

There were running footsteps, Tony and Jayden reached for each other.  “Ladies,” Uncle Ji said, “have you seen two eight year old boys?”

Tony and Jayden exchanged glances as the women said no.

“I just don’t understand,” Uncle Ji said.

Jayden crawled forward and stood up, “Here I am, Uncle Ji.”

“Jayden,” Uncle Ji said, “What are you doing?”

Tony followed Jayden, “I,” He began.

“We wanted to get away from the bully,” Jayden said.  He knew if Tony got into trouble, Uncle Ji would not let them play together.  “He was mean.  He called Tony a baby and me four-eyes.  I don’t like him.”

_Maybe if things had gone differently that day in the break room, we would have never come to the point where Carter ended up in the hospital.  I cannot see what might have been.  I also did not know that you had learned of Uncle Ben’s death that day.  All I knew was that someone who had hurt me before had been looking to start trouble.  Antonio also moved away shortly after that day, and I was left friendless.  Will Carter never made that an easy way to be._


	3. Jayden: Age 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a long time coming, I know! I also have some new ideas about where the next two parts are headed. (Yes, I officially decided on a five chapter fic. Sort of a four plus one. Hope you enjoy!)

_After Tony left, I made it a point to avoid Will Carter.  I’d already managed to figure out that while the adults around me respected the Shiba name and the potential power within me, and they ensured their children did the same, Will Carter wasn’t of the House, and he wasn’t going to respect my name.  And he’d already proven willing to hurt me on a whim.  Of course, there were places where avoiding Will Carter wasn’t possible, as I learned to my sorrow._

The Panorama Youth Center was new.  It had been opened by some of Uncle Damien’s cousins after they had spent time on the Mainland.  Jayden knew, had overheard, that it had a basketball court, a swimming pool, space for classes that would incorporate Samurai training, and classrooms for the Arts.  While it sounded exciting, Jayden figured he’d never get to go.  It wasn’t often that Ji let him go into town, and he _never_ left Jayden alone if he was leaving the building outside of the compound.

So when Ji told Jayden to dress for town, he wasn’t really thinking about what was coming.  Mostly Jayden thought he was heading for some meeting at FTP, or maybe a shopping trip for clothes.  He didn’t expect them to pull up in front of the tan, metal sided building with _Panorama City Youth Center_ on a simple sign above the door.

“Ji?”  Jayden turned to look at his guardian.

Ji’s smile was stiff, but he nodded.  “There is only so much you can learn from drills and old stories, Jayden.  You are to be a leader of warriors soon.  There are classes here you will take, among others your age.  Get to know them, learn what your teachers have to share.  I will be back for you after your classes.”

“You- you’re not staying?”  Jayden asked.

“No,” Ji said, “Damien and his son Kevin are here for the swimming classes.  If you need something, Damien will look after you.”

“Swimming?”  Jayden said.

Ji shifted slightly, “Why don’t we see how your lessons go before we discuss adding other ones?”

“All right,” Jayden said, reaching for the door handle.

“Jayden, one more thing,” Ji said.  Jayden twisted to look at him and found Ji offering him a black and red duffle with the Shiba crest on it.  “You’re going to need something to train in, after all.”

Jayden grinned as he took the duffle, “Thank you, Ji.  This is great.”

“I’ll see you in a couple of hours,” Ji replied.

Jayden slid out of the SUV and watched as it drove away, then he turned back to the huge building.  He stared at it for a long moment, then took a deep breath.  “I am Jayden Shiba,” he murmured, “Eighteenth Lord of Shiba House and the Red Samurai Ranger.”  Pretending he had become brave just from the soft words, Jayden headed for the door.  A wise man had once told him that _being brave means doing something even when you were afraid._

That remained the easiest and hardest advice Jayden had ever tried to follow.

Inside the building was a large room with white floor with black and brown specks, and tan colored walls as well as two sets of doors, one set as a bright red and the other a calm blue.  There was a curved desk directly opposite the door where a woman with a blond ponytail sat looking at a computer.  Jayden hitched his bag onto his shoulder and walked to the desk. 

“Hello?”  He said.

“Can I help you?”  The woman said, turning to look at him.

Jayden blushed, “I’m Jayden Shiba, I’m supposed to- to take a class?”

“Of course,” the woman smiled, holding up a clipboard.  “Welcome to the youth center.  Mister Himura has you assigned to a series of assessment tests today so that we can begin fitting you into the proper classes in the future.  You’ll be with six others.  Don’t worry about how well or poorly you’ll do today, this is simply so that your Sensei has an idea of where to place you.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jayden said, nodding quickly.

“If you go through those doors,” the woman pointed to the red doors, “and down the hall to the third door on the left, you’ll find the classroom your class will be meeting in.”

“Do I need to change?”  Jayden asked, glancing at the doors.

“Not yet,” the woman said, “Sensei Brandon will tell you when or if you need to.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jayden said and gave her a little bow before heading for the doors.

Beyond the doors was a long hallway with the same white floors and tan walls.  There were a dozen sets of doors, some of them opened and some of them closed.  Jayden hitched the bag’s straps up again and headed down to the third door on the left.

Inside the room was six other boys, and Jayden tried to keep his face impassive as he recognized one of them.  It was the tall, blond haired Will Carter, with the same arrogant sneer that Jayden had never forgotten.  Nervously, Jayden pushed his glasses up his nose and took a deep breath.  Surely with an audience, Will Carter wouldn’t be _that_ bad.

A hand fell on Jayden’s shoulder, making him jump.  “You would be Jayden Shiba.”

Jayden glanced up to find a tall man in a gi smiling at him, “Yes, uh, sensei?”

“I’m Sensei Brandon,” the man said, “I’ll be your teacher.  “Let’s go in there and get started.”

“Yes sensei,” Jayden said.  He shuddered as Sensei Brandon patted his shoulder, then darted forward into the room.

“All right boys,” Brandon said, “pay attention.  I am Sensei Brandon, and I am your teacher today.  Some of you will be my students going forward, while others will find themselves in different classes.”  Jayden scurried over to sit on an empty bench, consciously choosing a spot further down from Will Carter and his group.  “Today will be an assessment for all of you so that we can make sure you’re in classes that will actually benefit you.  Now, I recognize some of you.”  Jayden glanced up to see that the Sensei was looking at him.  “But not all of you, so let’s take a moment to introduce ourselves.  Jayden, why don’t you go first.”

Jayden swallowed, but stood up.  As he bowed to Sensei Brandon, he could hear Will Carter whisper, _“Baby!”_

“Hey!”  Sensei Brandon snapped, “There will be no name calling in this room.  If I catch you at it again, you will be banned from taking classes here.  Do you understand?”

“You can’t do that,” Will Carter began.

“As one of the owners of this Youth Center,” Sensei Brandon said, “I have the right to deny access to any person I choose, within reason of course.  Now, do you understand that name calling and other forms of bullying will be forbidden?”

“Yes sir,” Will Carter said sulkily.

“The proper term, as you should know from previous instruction, is yes _Sensei._   Now try again,” Sensei Brandon said.

“Yes Sensei,” Will Carter said, his cheeks bright red with humiliation.

“Now then, I believe you were about to introduce yourself,” Sensei Brandon said as he turned to Jaydon.

Jaydon swallowed, “My name is Jaydon Shiba,” he said firmly.

“Nice to meet you, Jayden,” Sensei Brandon said.  He pointed at Will Carter, “What’s your name?”

“Will Carter,” Will Carter said, clearly sulking.

Sensei Brandon pointed at a dark skinned boy, “And you?”

“Sam Benson,” the boy said nervously.

“James Benson,” said the boy next to him.  Jayden thought they reminded him of his Uncle Damien and Uncle Damien’s son Kevin.

“Brothers?”  Sensei Brandon asked.

“Twins,” the boys replied with bright grins.

“Right,” Sensei Brandon nodded.  “Next?”

“Harish,” said the boy beside the twins.  He had lighter skin than the twins, and black hair where the twins were bald.  “Harish Sharma.”

“I’m Tony,” said a blond boy with a huge grin, “Tony DiMartino.”

“Chris Lorent,” said the brunette sitting beside him.

“All right,” Sensei Brandon said.  “Now, we’ve been told that all of you have some previous training.  The question we have is how much.  We’ll start with getting changed and then we’ll do warm ups.  There’s a locker room through that door.  Get changed and come back out here so that we can get started.

Jayden hesitated a moment, but followed the rest of the group into the locker room.  It wasn’t very big, and there were rows of metal cages along one wall with a bench in front of it.  The other boys were already undressing.

Chris spotted Jayden first, “Hey, you okay?”

“Yes, thank you,” Jayden said.

“Then you should get changed.”  Tony added, and Jayden squeezed his bag’s straps against the painful reminder of _his_ Tony.

“Out- in front of- _everyone?”_   Jayden stuttered.

“Well, yeah,” Tony said.

“There’s a bathroom back there,” Chris pointed down the locker room, “that’s private.”  He poked the blond, “Tony plays a lot of sports, he forgets that not everyone spends half their summers in smelly locker rooms.  You might want to hurry though.  Sensei Brandon doesn’t seem the patient type.”

“Right, thank you,” Jayden said and hurried down the room, carefully not looking at Will Carter as he passed by.

The bathroom looked no different from any other public restroom that Jayden had ever seen and he headed for the large handicapped stall, hoping to use the larger area to change in.  Hands suddenly impacted his back and Jayden stumbled, trying to spin as he fell.  It was Will Carter, face an angry red.

“Did you think I was going to ignore you?”  He hissed, bending over Jayden.  “You little dweeb.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jayden protested.

“You’re trying to get me kicked out, teacher’s pet,” Will Carter said, pinning Jayden with his knees to Jayden’s thighs.  “I’ll show you.”

Jayden got his hands up to block the punch to his face, but couldn’t avoid the one to his stomach.  As he tried to cover that spot, Will Carter got a hit to his face.  Jayden closed his eyes, but he heard a crunchy noise as his nose erupted into pain.  He couldn’t see from the way his eyes were watering and he struggled to get his arms into a position to serve as a guard.  He thought he heard shouting as he struggled, but he was more caught up in the pain, both from the previous hits, and the new ones as Will Carter hit him again and again.

_As promised, Will Carter was banned from the Youth Center thereafter.  I had a broken nose, a black eye and numerous bruises on my torso and face.  It was nearly a year before you let me go back to the center, but even you had to admit that you couldn’t teach me everything I needed to know about fighting against other people._


	4. Jayden: Age 12

_After that particular meeting between Will Carter and myself, it was a while before we were left unsupervised, as I’m sure you remember.  I was perfectly happy with the arrangement.  As while I stayed true to my own bloodlines of being slender and prone to late growth, Will was the opposite.  A year older, he was tall and heavy set, and was destined for football and wrestling in high school.  Not to mention at the age of twelve, I was struggling to understand that while the Nighloks and Moogers I would fight looked like monsters and I had no problem fighting them, I wasn’t so sure I should use my training against others._

“All right, Jayden,” Ji said, “work on your assignments and I’ll be back soon.”

Jayden sighed, “Why do I even have to come here?  All I do is sit in a conference room.  I can do my assignments at _home._ ”

Ji stared at him for a moment, “Because FTP is important, it’s part of your legacy.”

“But it’s boring,” Jayden whined, “I don’t want to sit around doing nothing.  Can’t I go with you once?  Just to see?”

“Not today,” Ji said with a sigh.

Jayden flinched a little at the tight frown on Ji’s face, he didn’t like putting that look on his guardian’s face, but he was _twelve,_ he wasn’t a _baby._   He was Lord Shiba, everyone said so.  If that was supposed to mean something, he shouldn’t be shoved out of the way while the “adults” did business.  The car pulled up to FTP and Jayden threw his backpack over his shoulder and jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

“Jayden Shiba,” Ji said, coming around the car with a frown, “I don’t care what issues you have with me, but you will _not_ damage property.  It has done nothing to you and deserves to be treated with respect.”

Jayden shrugged, “Whatever.”

Ji gripped his arm, “Do you want me to cut your lessons?  Because you are not acting like the Lord Shiba you were born to be.”

“No,” Jayden said resentfully, pulling away from Ji.  He headed for the door, “Don’t you have an important meeting to go to?”

He heard Ji mutter something that sounded like _“You can’t kill him until he’s eighteen, you promised.”_

Jayden rolled his eyes and shoved his way into the building, stalking past Ms. Susan at the front desk with a glance, heading down the hall to the conference room.  He could hear Ms. Susan and Ji talking, but he didn’t linger to listen to them.  It wasn’t important anyways.  He glanced in to make sure they weren’t using the room, but it was empty as usual.  Jayden dropped his backpack on the table and threw himself into one of the chairs.  He knew better than to try to go exploring, of course.  Ji had people pass by the room on a regular basis to check up on him after the last time.

He stared at the bag for a moment, then reached in for his book.  Might as well do something to pass the time he thought as he glared at the cover of _To Kill A Mockingbird._   It was definitely not the best example of literature he’d ever read, but he’d read it anyways.  The Lord Shiba couldn’t be uneducated after all.

“You’re joking right.”

Jayden jerked back, looking up in surprise.  It was him.  Will Carter.

“Will, I need you to just stay out of trouble, okay?  You’ve already gotten into enough trouble as it is.”  That was Mr. Carter, Jayden had met him a few times, usually in conjunction with being forced into the presence of Will Carter and a babysitter.  Jayden watched over the top of his book.  “Will, you’re thirteen years old,” Mr. Carter said, “I trust you to behave accordingly.  I’m not going to ask Susan to put someone in here with you two this time.  Do your homework, you don’t want to be behind when you go back to school.”

“Dad,” Will whined, drawing out the word.

“Do as I say Will,” Mr. Carter snapped.  “I don’t have time for your adolescent torture of the soul.  Be a man, not a baby.”

Jayden stared at his book, pretending he was magically deaf to the two.  After a moment, he heard the thud of Will dropping into one of the chairs, and then the door slammed shut.  Jayden carefully turned a page in his book, not looking at the other boy.  He tried to keep himself still, but he couldn’t stop his knee from jittering.  He had very vivid memories of being alone with Will Carter.

After a moment, he heard a sigh and then a sliding noise.  Jayden glanced up and saw Will Carter was pulling his backpack away.  “Leave it,” Jayden snapped.  “It’s not yours.”

“Are you going to stop me?”  Will Carter demanded, sneering at him.

“Why not,” Jayden asked, putting his book on the table.

“I don’t think you can,” Will Carter said, pulling the bag all the way over to him.

Jayden stood up and grabbed the bag strap, “Which of us has been studying at the youth center for two years?  Let’s see, it wasn’t you,”

“And who’s fault was that?”  Will snarled, pulling on the bag.

“Yours?”  Jayden said, pulling even more firmly on the strap.  “I mean; you did attack me without provocation.”

“And what do you call this?”

Will and Jayden froze, looking to find Ji and Mister Carter standing just inside the door.  Jayden considered for a moment, then smirked, “Provocation?”

“Jayden,” Ji said with a sigh.

“I’m not a baby,” Jayden said, yanking his bag away from Will.  “I’m supposed to stand up for myself, right?  That’s why you put me in those lessons.”

“That’s enough,” Ji said, “it’s time to go.”

Jayden glanced at his guardian, judging the look on his face for a moment before he threw his book in his bag and shoved it onto his shoulder.  “Whatever.”

As he stepped past Will, the older boy turned his face away from the adults and muttered, “Pussy.”

Jayden snapped, with a scream of rage he threw himself at Will, keeping his head long enough to make the first punch count, but the rest of the brief fight was a haze of pain and rage.  It was as if all the resentment he’d been feeling about being Lord Shiba, and having to obey certain restrictions on his actions and feelings and movements exploded out of him and his limbs flailed wildly against his oldest and most consistent tormentors.

It was a sharp crack and a torrent of pain that snapped him out of it.  He was on his back on the floor of the conference room, arm extended, with a shoe holding down.  He looked to see Will, face now half covered in blood from his nose and face twisted into an expression of rage.

Hands yanked Will away as Jayden’s arm began to throb, then Ji was kneeling over him, worried and Jayden just wanted it all to go away.  He felt curiously empty, as if his sudden explosion of violence had cleansed him of all emotions, leaving only the throbbing pain.

_That was the last time Will Carter and I were allowed to be in the same vicinity.  It was also what prompted my trips to the counselor to help me deal with the growing pressures on me to be the Lord Shiba.  I never forgot him, of course.  Will Carter and I had sporadically met face to face for six years, but he had a heavy impact on my personality.  Of course, it wasn’t the last time Will Carter and I met face to face._


	5. Jayden: Age 15

It was stupid, and Jayden knew it was stupid, but sometimes he was just so _done_ with being in Shiba House, with endless rounds of training and school work, with breaks either to go to the center for _more_ training or to FTP to sit in what was now dubbed _his office_ to do homework while Ji talked to people.  Sometimes the walls that constantly surrounded him felt closer than ever and he couldn’t breathe.  When that happened, all Jayden could do was get away.  At Shiba House, that meant the woods mostly.

Sometimes though, Jayden just needed to be around people.  There were ways to be anonymous in Panorama, and Jayden knew most of them.  He dressed appropriately, kept his head down, and kept to the places where a fifteen-year-old was expected to be, like the arcade.  Jayden hadn’t liked the arcade when he’d first gone in, it was loud where he was used to echoing silences, there was more technology in a single square foot than existed in the whole of Shiba House.  Then there was the people.   Jayden was used to being in groups of ten or less most of the time.  The most time he spent around outsiders was at the center, and even then he rarely saw someone outside his class unless it was a competition of some sort.

Today when Jayden slid into the arcade, he felt something inside relax so sharply it was almost painful.  He let the sounds wash over him as he scanned for familiar faces in the teens crowded around various games.  Hearing Chris’s victory howl told Jayden they were back at the air hockey table, again, and he moved to join them.  He’d barely gotten past the counter with his first round of tokens when someone bumped into him.

Jayden caught the kid, probably about ten or so, and steadied him, “You okay?”  Jayden asked.

“Yeah,” the kid began then looked at him, eyes wide with recognition.

Jayden recognized the little boy, as if the short sleeved green hoodie wasn’t enough of a clue, he tapped his index finger against his lips and winked.  “Don’t tell, huh?  Make it our secret.”

The boy grinned at him and mimed zipping his lips before heading across the room to the street racing machines.  Jayden watched the boy join two other boys the same age, waving a hand in the air, and then he turned and headed back to where Chris and Tony were playing air hockey.

Jayden lifted his hand, about to call a greeting when someone _else_ crashed into him with enough force to knock him to the ground.  Jayden grunted as the other person’s elbow smacked his ribs as they landed and he forced himself to stay still as the other person rolled off him.

“Hey, you okay?”  Someone said, and a hand appeared in front of Jayden.

“I’ll survive,” Jayden replied as he accepted the help up.

“You!”

Jayden glanced at the other kid.  It was Will _fucking_ Carter.  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jayden muttered before pasting on a smirk, “Been walking long?”

“Longer than you,” Will snapped.

“If you’re sure,” Jayden said, turning away.

A hand grabbed his arm, yanking him back, “You should apologize.”

Jayden glanced at Will, trying to imitate his katana teacher’s expression of icy disdain.  “I’m sorry I broke your fall.  I’m sorry I was walking down the middle of an aisle in clear view.  I’m sorry I took your elbow in my ribs.  That good enough?”

“You bumped me,” Will declared.

“Uh, who of us ended up on the floor, and who ended up on top of him?”  Jayden said, then paused, “Really though, if you wanted to date me…”

Will lunged at him with a roar of rage and Jayden ducked, letting the teen stumble down the aisle towards the door.  “It’s all right,” Jayden said, “I mean, pulling pigtails is a well-established, although poorly thought out, way for boys to show affection.”

Will turned, his face bright red with anger.

“Hey!”

A tall, African American man stepped between them, “No fighting in the arcade unless you want a lifelong ban.”

Jayden backed up, tugging his hat down on his head.  “Sorry,” he muttered.

Will glared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away, shoving his way through the crowd.

“You two,” Chris announced, “you’re nothing but trouble.”

Jayden shrugged, “It’s his problem, not mine.  Come on, who’s going to play me at air hockey.”

“My turn,” Tony announced.  “I’m going to cream you.”

They played until the sun started setting, and Jayden knew he needed to leave soon.  It was one thing for Ji’s people to find him on the street, if they caught him in the arcade, they’d tell Ji, and then he’d never get to come back.  So he said goodbye to Chris and Tony and headed back out onto the sidewalk.  The fastest way Jayden could get back to the house undetected was to call up one of his horses, so he headed down the street to one of the parks, where he’d have space to call the horse without attracting attention.

He’d just entered the park when someone jumped on his back.  “This time,” Will snarled in his ear.

Jayden ducked down, going to his knees and throwing Will’s balance off before Jayden moved into a leg sweep.  Then he scrambled back to his feet, lifting his hands up in defense.  Will was also on his feet and charging like a linebacker.  Jayden dodged the charge, managing to make Will stumble in the process, but Will didn’t go down.

“I don’t know what I ever did to you,” Jayden grunted as he blocked a punch.

“My mom’s in Japan because of your stupid company,” Will snarled.

“I didn’t do that,” Jayden protested as he ducked another charge.  Something in his chest was curling up tight, for some reason, Jayden thought of a ticking time bomb waiting to blow.

“Doesn’t matter,” Will announced before charging again.

Jayden brought his hands up.  The tight feeling in his chest exploded and Will howled in fear and agony as his shirt caught fire.  Jayden stumbled back, shocked.

A gush of water shot past Jayden’s shoulder, hitting Will and putting the fire out.  Jayden spun, only to find Uncle Damien standing there, frowning.

“Uncle Damien?”  Jayden said confused.

Damien glanced at him, frowning harder, “There’s an emergency phone at the park entrance, go call an ambulance.  Ji’s already on his way down.”

“But- I,” Jayden hesitated.

“My lord,” Damien snapped, “he’s hurt and it’s your fault.  Whether you intended it or not, Jayden Shiba, it happened.  Now _go call that ambulance.”_

Jayden spun and ran for the park entrance and the blue emergency box.  He wished he could forget the look on Damien’s face at the same time.  He’d never actually felt so _small_ before.

 _They tell me that Will Carter will recover well, although scarred, and that he’ll be sent away.  I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.  I’m probably never going to like Will Carter, but what I did?  That was wrong.  If I’d been paying attention, I would have known that something like that could happen.  I got too caught up in my own head and I forgot.  I forgot what I was training for, what I was supposed to do.  I’m supposed to_ protect _my people, not hurt them myself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't fit it in specifically, but Damien (Kevin's dad, former Blue Samurai with Water Symbol Power) is Jayden's bodyguard. That's why he's there. Ji knew Jayden was sneaking off, and Damien was very good at being unobserved while protecting Jayden. Also, this is the point when Jayden abandons all his 'fun' pursuits and rededicates himself to being Lord Shiba. This is what brings about the character we met in Samurai.


End file.
